FieldTurf

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The wide plain of FieldTurf used at Toronto's Rogers Centre was installed after the 2004 baseball season.

FieldTurf, a division of SynTenniCo Inc., is a Montreal-based company that installs artificial turf playing surfaces identified by the FieldTurf trademark.

1 The Product
2 Business
3 Installations
4 Criticism
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] The Product

FieldTurf is an artificial turf composed of monofilament polyethylene blend fibers tufted into a polypropylene backing with a mixture of silica sand and cryogenic rubber infill. FieldTurf was patented in 1982.

[edit] Business

FieldTurf claims Southwest Recreational Industries (SRI), the former manufacturer of AstroTurf, allegedly duplicated the FieldTurf product and attempted to sue SRI for patent infringement. FieldTurf lost the suit for lack of evidence,^[1] and in late 2003 was ordered to reimburse Southwest Recreational Industries for approximately $4.3 million in legal expenses.^[2]

Following the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s affirmation of SRI Sports’ November, 2000 verdict against FieldTurf, FieldTurf paid SRI Sports $1,195,000 in September, 2002. The November, 2000 verdict arose from a jury’s finding that FieldTurf was guilty of false advertising and breach of contract. In conjunction with the November, 2000 trial, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas found that FieldTurf and its CEO John Gilman acted in bad faith and engaged in conduct that was intended to prevent a fair trial and constituted obstruction of justice in a Federal Court proceeding.^[3]

[edit] Installations

In 1999, one of the first Field Turf installations in the USA occurred at the Metropolitan Oval, a soccer complex in New York City.

In 2000, FieldTurf was installed in the University of Washington's Husky Stadium, which was being used as the Seattle Seahawks home field for two years, following the implosion of the Kingdome in March 2000. This would be the first FieldTurf in the NFL. FieldTurf was also installed at Qwest Field (originally Seahawks Stadium) in 2002.[1]

The Oregon Ducks installed NexTurf in Autzen Stadium in 2001 but the surface did not perform as expected^{[citation needed]} and during remodelling in 2002 it was removed and the surface replaced with FieldTurf.

Several UK teams have installed it as a training pitch, but as of October 2006, only one club (Hamilton Academical F.C.) uses FieldTurf (installed in 2004) for their first-team matches.{fact} In 2005 Saprissa Stadium in San José, Costa Rica became the first stadium to host a FIFA World Cup qualifying match on FieldTurf.

The New England Patriots installed FieldTurf midway into the 2006 NFL season.^[4] The installation was made during a week where the team was on the road.

As of 2005, at least seven out of the nine Canadian Football League teams will have installed either FieldTurf or a similar surface, as well as approximately half of National Football League venues as well as several Major League Baseball stadiums List of FieldTurf installations.

Super Bowl XL, featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the first time that the Super Bowl has been played on FieldTurf. The Ford Field installation differs slightly from the standard installation as the recycled rubber used is made from recalled Firestone tires.^[5]

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics recently decided to replace the prescription grass surface at Ohio Stadium with FieldTurf. Installation should begin after the Football spring scrimmage in April, 2007.

[edit] Criticism

In Sepember 2006, several top Canadian soccer players appealed to the The Canadian Soccer Association to install a natural grass surface at the BMO Field which is currently under construction in Toronto.^[6] The Association has however decided to install Fieldturf despite the players' request.